The Dream of Sleeping Beauty
by Kairaita
Summary: Over time, this is what everyday life slowly becomes; in the castle surrounded by thorns, that person is having a quiet dream.
1. beginning of the end

_~The Dream of Sleeping Beauty~_

_Author's Introduction:_

_This is a story that is not very bright._

_Along the way, there may be scenes that one might perceive as romance._

_As the author, please note that I do not mean it at all, but in a good way._

_Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoy it even a little._

* * *

Gray yawned softly.

"Oh my, are you sleepy? You've been yawning all morning."

At the counter where Gray was eating, Mirajane smiled gently as she observed the ice mage. Rubbing at misty eyes and with a sullen frown on his face, Gray's attempts at pretending otherwise were not very effective, especially with his naturally drooping eyes that were often called out on in fights.

"Do I seem like it?"

"Mm, I'd say so, even though it's barely noon. Did you stay up late last night?"

"No, last night I actually went to sleep early…"

Even as he said that, another yawn escaped Gray's mouth.

"There you go again."

"…" Being proven wrong despite his words, Gray turned his eyes away.

"If you're tired, it's going to pile up on you. Maybe you should take it easy today and take a nap."

"Hey, I'm not a kid…"

Mirajane_ was_ the main older sister figure of the guild after all, and Gray smiled wryly. At that moment, a voice echoed energetically throughout the guild hall.

"Oi, Gray! We've got a mission! We're going to go beat up everyone at a dark guild!"

Without even looking back, both Mirajane and Gray knew that the eager voice was Natsu.

"He's not a bad guy, but sometimes I have to wonder, especially when he gets like that," Gray muttered, glancing flippantly over his shoulder.

Mirajane giggled in reply. "I'm not sure it would make a difference either way, in Natsu's case."

"Hey, hurry up, pervert stripper!"

"Shut up! Can't you wait for even a second, damn fire freak?" Gray snapped back loudly in response to Natsu's impatient call and stood up, pushing his chair back. "Thanks for the food, Mira. Looks like the idiot won't stop annoying me until we get this job over with."

"Have a safe trip with everyone." Collecting the empty dish on the counter, Mirajane watched the ice mage stride off, white coat fluttering as he walked away. "Get some sleep when you come back, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you."

Reflecting on it now, on Gray's nonchalant laugh, his words were mingled with that of more yawning.

.

.

.

**beginning of the end.**

* * *

**A/N:** Since there was a surprisingly popular demand for the translation of another one of Hagino's stories, I decided I might as well start it up. As you can probably tell, the introduction up there is from the author herself and it's just as she says; this is not a happy story. Most chapters are more or less this long, although looking at it now, this is one of the shorter chapters. Updates will probably come every few days.

Unlike _Drowning The Hero In Love_, which had a few changes and quite a bit of expansion on my part, this story will be more of a direct translation to the best of my ability, as I believe there's nothing I can or _should_ do to this story to make it more impactful. But as is the case in many translated works, some descriptions might be a little strange to read. I'll do my best to minimize any awkward wording, but please understand if anything like that pops up. All credit to these two stories should definitely go to Hagino though. I hope people will stick around to read this.


	2. approaching footsteps

"…He's late."

With the huge cart of luggage that no one dared call her out on standing in the background, the scarlet-haired armored mage scanned around, eyes narrowed in irritation.

"That bastard-!"

The Fire Dragon Slayer standing with her seemed about ready to live up to his title by spitting out flames of anger at any moment.

"Maybe we should just go?"

Floating lightly in the air, a certain flying blue cat's consternation was harsher than usual. As she looked around at her friends, the last present member of the group, a blonde celestial spirit mage, tried to placate the rest of them.

"E-everyone, just calm down a bit. He'll probably be here soon."

She was often the only one with common sense after all, as far as she could see. But with the extreme extent her friends often took matters, most of the time it was like playing a lottery when it came trying to appease them. They would either totally ignore her or actually (rarely) listen.

Fairy Tail's strongest team was prepared for a mission. However, even though he had always been there five minutes before the set time, there was no sign of Gray at all now. And then before they knew it, thirty minutes had passed since the time scheduled, in which they had already missed two trains.

Normally the team was not in the habit of being delayed for missions, although Natsu would occasionally wish they were in order to put off having to board the train. It was especially unusual for Gray to be late, and without knowing whether or not it was some sort of emergency that held him up, they waited as time slowly inched by.

But they could only wait so long before they looked irresponsible on the job, and the limit of their patience and time was quickly approaching.

Looking at the clock, Erza said in a stern voice, "The next train comes in five minutes. We can't miss this one. If he doesn't come by then, we'll have no choice but to leave without him, or cancel the mission."

"Tch," Natsu hissed. "What's taking that guy so long?!"

"I wonder if he got arrested for taking his clothes off," Happy chimed in, looking entirely too cheerful about the possibility.

"…Sad as it sounds, I can completely see that happening."

As she voiced her thoughts about such a disastrous scenario, Lucy sighed.

"Oh, he's here!"

Natsu was the first to notice with his exceptionally sharp eyesight. Following the Dragon Slayer's gaze, Erza, Lucy, and Happy watched as Gray's figure weaved through the crowd of people in a frantic hurry.

"Gray!"

Arriving in front of the team, it was apparent that Gray had run at full speed the entire way from how he panted, almost gasping for air.

"Sorry… I'm late…"

"You really are late. We were talking about leaving in the next five minutes if you didn't show up by then."

Wiping sweat from his forehead, somehow there was an uncomfortable look on Gray's face as he continued to breathe heavily.

"It's totally your fault that we got held up from the mission, ice brain!"

"Aye, we were waiting for forever."

"Yeah… My bad."

At Natsu and Happy's stinging rebukes, Gray seemed unable to do anything but slump in apparent shame.

"Well, you're here now… Ah, here comes the train. Let's just forget it and get on, okay?" Lucy consoled, taking on the role of peacekeeper once again.

* * *

"But really, why are you late?"

As the team settled onboard the train, Erza cut the slight tension sharply. It was in her nature to be blunt, after all.

"It's certainly unusual for you to be late without notifying us first. Were you arrested by the police again?"

At Erza's relentless questions, the uncomfortable look from before returned to Gray's face and he glanced down, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Gray…?"

"I just… overslept."

Upon reluctantly muttering those words, everyone's eyes instinctively pointed to the ice mage.

"O-overslept…"

"Gray, are you serious?"

"That… I'm not really following here…"

For a moment, awkward silence flowed in the train compartment—until it was broken by an indignant voice.

"Bastaaaaard! Cut the crap!"

It was Natsu's, of course.

"Do you know how long we waited?! And it's all because you overslept, droopy eyes?!"

"…Yeah."

"I can't freaking believe you! It would've been better if you _were_ caught for that stupid stripper habit of yours like we usually hear about!"

"…Yeah."

"Seriously! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Although Gray was quietly enduring all of Natsu's enraged accusations, it was apparent that he was reaching the end of his own patience, which had always been notoriously short when it came to the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"…Shut up, flaming charcoal mouth! I already said I was sorry, so what the hell do you want from me?!"

Gray finally lashed out, dark eyes icy, to which Natsu sneered.

"Hah?! Wanna go at it, you-"

...

However, as they prepared to go all-out on the train, the two mages had completely forgotten about the presence of Erza in front of them.

"You two."

Her cold voice smoothly froze the both of them in place at that moment.

"Ah…"

"Uh…"

The fear of Erza that had been engraved into Natsu and Gray's very instincts over the years turned their faces completely white.

"…I have had enough of your childish arguments. Prepare yourselves."

As she spoke, the casual twitch of a vein in her forehead understated her vast temper.

A moment of silence, until Natsu and Gray stammered out at the same time.

"…Oh shit."

In preparation for the tragedy that was about to occur, Lucy closed her eyes and prayed for her friends' poor souls.

.

.

.

**approaching footsteps. **


	3. premonition of goodbyes

"What's this? Gray's sleeping again?"

At night, the guild was noisy and bustling as usual. Looking around, one would have expected Gray to be joining in on the commotion as he often did, but instead the ice mage was fast asleep with his head over his arms on one of the tables.

Sitting beside him was Cana, and apparently they had been drinking together. The brown-haired mage poked Gray gently in the head, making a sound of dissatisfaction when there was no response at all.

"I leave you for a second to get a refill and this is what happens, huh? C'mon Gray, wake up. I haven't even gotten drunk yet."

"Heh, that's weird. Did you slip him something extra strong?"

Across the table from Cana sat Elfman, who glanced curiously at Gray's sleeping profile. As far as he could tell from the other mage's relaxed expression, Gray seemed to be sleeping fairly deeply, if he wasn't being roused by the racket in the building.

There was no doubt that the guild's number one heaviest drinker was Cana, but Gray was nothing to laugh at either on the occasions he felt up to it. Many times, the only one who could keep up with Cana to the end was Gray.

Although, Elfman had never seen Gray drunk under the table to the point that he would fall asleep.

Cana snorted. "What do you take me for? I didn't, by the way. He's probably just tired. Everyone's been busy lately, but that's the usual thing around here." She smiled wryly, raising an eyebrow. "I just got back yesterday after a week's outing, myself."

"…You're a monster." Grinning somewhat stiffly, Elfman's face involuntarily twitched, trying not to imagine what Cana's idea of an 'outing' was.

"Well, I can't really help it now, can I? I'm not about to go chasing after this bunch of guys." Cana winked suddenly, leaning in closer. "Or, how about it, hm? You, me, let's go out."

"N-no way. That's not a man."

"Relax, I'm just kidding."

Hurriedly trying to change the topic, Elfman blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "But recently, I don't think I've seen Gray take a job. Did he get written up for breaking something?"

"Nah, that's more Natsu's style. One of him running around's more than enough. …No, I think Gray's just going through a bit of a tough spot right now."

"Hm?"

Suddenly, although lightly, there was the feeling that the atmosphere had changed somehow, and Elfman allowed himself to blink in confusion.

Cana poked Gray's cheek again. One way or another, there was somewhat of a gently compassionate look in her eyes, even though it was much unlike her usual teasing self. But still, the look seemed to suit her in a way.

_Come to think of it, these two go way back, don't they?_ Elfman suddenly recalled the several times he had seen a similar expression on Cana's face when she turned to Gray, or when Gray turned to her.

Being the first two veterans of the current generation of the guild, Cana and Gray had always seemed to share a special sort of relationship. It was difficult to put into words.

'Romantic' was simultaneously not enough and yet too much to describe it. There was a deep sort of understanding between the two of them that simply could not be defined. Erza had once called it something like the connection between twins, but even that was inadequate.

"…What sort of tough spot are you talking about, Cana?"

"Mm, it's just a feeling."

From her vague words, Elfman gathered that she was not talking about the fortune-telling she often did with her cards.

"But, you can bet on it. I think he'll have enough on his plate for a while."

"Eh? How do you know?"

The answer was something he still dared listen to back then, knowing what he knew now.

Still lightly prodding Gray, Cana soon let her hand drift smoothly up to run through Gray's hair, over and over again. The beast Take-Over mage could not help but feel as if he was intruding on something strangely intimate.

The card mage laughed quietly at his question, and Elfman wondered why her smile seemed just a little lonely.

"…Call it a woman's intuition."

* * *

Cana's divinations with her cards had always been uncannily accurate.

Yet what she called 'woman's intuition' was far sharper than even that.

Later on, that was what Elfman thought.

.

.

.

**premonition of goodbyes.**


	4. if the truth is not revealed

The moment he saw the scene, a chill ran down Loke's spine and he froze.

"What… are you doing?"

He called out, trying to suppress any emotions as much as possible. But surely, it couldn't be something that had to be hidden.

"Loke?"

Upon hearing Loke's voice, Gray looked back slowly, and gave an embarrassed laugh.

On yet another night, the guild was rambunctious as usual. But this one person was seated at a table in a corner away from everyone else, almost as if he wanted to be hidden; this was merely coincidence, however.

Though he didn't believe in higher powers of any sort, Gray felt thankful that it was Loke of all people who had noticed. More than that, it was lucky that Loke was by himself. And perhaps, it was the same for the ice mage.

Determining this to be a good compromise, the Lion spirit strode over and quickly grabbed Gray's right arm in silence.

"What… are you doing, Gray?"

Dropping his voice so as not to be overheard by anyone, Gray exhaled in slight relief. "It's not what it looks like, Loke. You can find this stuff anywhere in the stores."

The change in expression back to how Gray always acted did not go unnoticed by Loke, even though his worry should have been alleviated with that. But his eyes, tinted through sunglasses, narrowed in suspicion.

After all, Gray's right hand was still tightly closed in a fist.

"Don't try and lie to me of all people. It hasn't changed my question. What in the world were you about to take?"

With the celestial spirit's unusually serious stare directed at him, a briefly alarmed look crossed Gray's face.

"Gray, open your hand. You know I'm not an idiot, and I know that what you want the most is probably for me to turn my back like I don't see what's going on. But unfortunately for you, that's not happening. Don't make this into something I'm going to have to fight with you every day about."

"…Is that a threat?"

"It's a trade. You don't want this to get out? Tell me, and I'll keep my mouth shut."

Silence.

"_Gray_."

At Loke's quiet, pressing voice, Gray broke their gaze, glancing away.

He slowly opened his hand. Sitting on his palm were seven little white tablets.

Loke picked them up gingerly, straining to keep his voice calm. "…How many? You can't possibly be taking all seven at once. That's not normal."

"…Two of them," Gray muttered after an uncharacteristic pause, as if he had been puzzled by the question. "They don't work very well, anyway."

Without a sound, Loke raised an eyebrow, prompting the other mage to continue. A self-derisive smile flickered over Gray's expression.

"I know. You think I've been acting weird lately."

His words were spoken hastily, in a distracted tone.

"…Even so, this is a reckless thing to do to yourself." Loke had been vaguely aware of it. Of the recent changes in Gray. However, because those changes had been infinitely subtle and ambiguous, Loke hadn't stopped to worry about it at all.

For some time, the ice mage had been avoiding working in a team, instead going off on several individual jobs in quick succession.

There were no reasons for it that Loke could discern, and it would certainly be against the rules for him to pry here.

"I don't know what's going on, but I think you're taking too many jobs these days. Instead of relying on something like this to keep you awake," Loke shook the small tablets in his hand, "you'd be better off resting for real."

He did not dare to dig deeper, about Gray's recently inexplicable behavior.

"Get some sleep, and hurry up and go to the doctor if this stuff isn't working. That's the basic thing to do, right?" Gray was being unusually reticent as Loke spoke firmly. He tapped his friend's shoulder in an encouraging manner.

"Yeah… that's right."

"Right." The celestial spirit exaggeratedly shrugged, and then conspicuously threw two of the tablets on his palm into his mouth. "You're using them properly like this, yeah?"

Watching Loke tilt his head back as he swallowed, Gray finally smiled. "What's that supposed to be? If you're trying to act cute or something, it's definitely not working."

The ice mage seemed to be reverting to his regular self, and Loke was relieved. "That's harsh, Gray," he chuckled. "Well, who exactly do you think is cute then?"

"Eh, maybe Mira?"

"Haha, that's a cop-out safe answer. I won't forgive you if you run away, you know."

Jokingly unamused, Gray rolled his eyes. As if the tense atmosphere from a moment ago had been a lie, the two of them went and melted back into the hustle and bustle of the guild, away from each other.

* * *

Loke didn't see it then.

The smile had reached Gray's eyes, but was soon shadowed with a strained expression.

The moment that Loke's figure was no longer within view, relief flooded through him and he sighed.

In retrospect, Gray had walked away feeling assuaged; Loke had not tried to interrogate more forcefully at that time.

Then, perhaps they would have known what was hidden flimsily within the medical truth and lies.

.

.

.

**if the truth is not revealed.**


	5. drowning quietly

Looking back on it now, the signs were there from a long time ago.

However, they just did not notice.

About him, they just… did not notice.

* * *

It had been two months since that last job together as a team, and he'd finally had enough.

Trying to suppress the emotions swirling around and around, Natsu slowly approached the bar counter.

There, he could see the back of a familiar white coat.

"…Oi, popsicle stripper. What're you doing being drunk this early?"

But in fact, it was the first time he had seen the other mage in a week.

Natsu frowned at the smell of hard liquor drifting from the bar. It was still the middle of the day. Gray turned around, casting him an irritable glare.

"What's it to you, ash-brain? I don't remember taking orders from you."

"Ha, this coming from the guy who's barely gone on a mission lately."

"Leave me alone. You'll make the drinks taste bad."

Perhaps it was the fault of the alcohol, that Gray's face suddenly turned slightly redder than usual. Furthermore, his temper seemed especially short at the moment.

Unusually however, Natsu did not rise to the provocation as expected. Simply staring straight at Gray, he spoke strongly in a low voice.

"Did you think that alcohol would make things better? No matter how much you drink, you're not going to be able to run away."

"…What?"

At the imaginary accusations, Gray's eyes widened.

"You're not a bad actor, but this time it was obvious."

"Bastard, what're you trying to say?"

"I should be giving you a good hard punch in the face if you keep doing this."

The urge to hit the Dragon Slayer – who had no idea what he was talking about, who didn't even notice what his drink was, who didn't even know what was going on – was steadily rising. Just as Gray was about to respond to Natsu's words, a sudden movement attracted his attention and he turned around.

Behind the bar counter, Mirajane looked away uncomfortably.

"Mira."

"Natsu's right, Gray. We haven't seen you around in a week, and when you finally come by it's just to drink. It's bad for your health." Her words, though apologetically spoken, were flat.

"It's just water." Unconsciously, Gray stared down at the cup in his hand. Now that he mentioned it, the cup did not smell of alcohol to Natsu's nose. Apparently it really was plain water.

Silence. Mirajane backed away awkwardly.

"Tch." Without invitation, Natsu dropped himself onto the seat next to Gray, crossing his arms. "So? What's going on then?" He stared at the ice mage with a hard gaze that would not allow the other to escape.

Gray tore his own gaze away wordlessly, frustrated. He could be stubborn too.

"…We haven't seen your face around the guild for a week. When we do, you're off drinking stuff. Or at least looking like it. It's annoying to our team."

"…I know."

"No, you don't know. What the hell were you doing this past week?"

This guy, Natsu decided, was an unbelievable idiot. He'd thought the ice mage had gotten better since the time of the events on Galuna Island, at crucial moments. But Gray hadn't changed at all. He would simply hide it better, trying to deal with whatever by himself.

Still relying on someone else to call him out on it, while keeping people away with a laugh.

"…It's none of your business."

At those words, Natsu's patience finally snapped.

"Give me a break."

He swiftly stood up, grabbing the collar of Gray's shirt, ignoring the chair as it fell over with a loud _thud._

"It's, none of your business," Gray's voice squeezed out past gritted teeth, surprisingly low.

And yet, he seemed less angry than Natsu would have thought, having other people meddle. Instead, he noted the slight tremors running through his hands, though Gray seemed more surprised than anything. Obsidian eyes looked back at Natsu in confusion.

"Like hell it isn't," Natsu hissed softly. "When's the last time you worked with us in a team, huh? Two months ago?"

"…"

"And then after that, you went and started doing a ton of jobs by yourself. Did you think we wouldn't notice? This week, you didn't even show up at the guild. That makes it our business, and you'd better have a good excuse for all this shit."

The Dragon Slayer wasn't even necessarily shouting as usual, yet the vitriolic anger quietly building up that Natsu now spat out seemed a hundred times more furious.

"…I'll admit you're strong, ice-brain. Doing whatever it is you're doing, without anyone seeing it, and I don't know how you did it alone. That's what you're good at, and I was an idiot not to see it at first. But, you're still the world's biggest idiot."

"…"

"You can't hide it forever. Did you think that we didn't notice you've been acting weird by now? That everyone didn't notice by now?"

Again, the habit of being alone, that could not be left alone.

"Natsu-"

"What kind of guild would we be, if we left you alone? Is it that hard to rely on someone else? Don't take us for idiots, Gray."

The entire guild was watching the interaction of the two people now; the continual chatter and noise in the building gone ominously silent.

In that painful silence, Gray slowly grabbed Natsu's wrist.

"…-you said?"

"Eh?"

"Strong, you said? Stop it. Stop saying that. You're right. All this time, these last two months, I was running away."

"Gray…?"

Gray's hands suddenly clenched tightly around Natsu's wrist, turning the ice mage's knuckles white. He pulled Natsu's hand away from his collar, looking down.

"I was just… running away."

He repeated the words in a mutter, his expression unreadable. However, the strength in Gray's grip was terribly strong, as if trying desperately to hold onto something. He suddenly snapped his head back up, looking directly into Natsu's eyes.

"I didn't do anything this last week, because I was at my place the whole time. Trying to avoid going with you guys on a job. And even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't."

"What—?"

Suddenly, impossibly, something clicked in the corner of Natsu's mind.

Had they all made a ridiculous mistake this whole time?

Having gone to ask everyone in the last two months – yes, they said, Gray certainly had been coming to the guild unusually late, day after day.

"_I just… overslept."_

Inarticulate emotions swirling around and around again. Nevertheless, some other part in his head was calmly poking, running to the truth on its own.

Recently, Gray had been going on several individual jobs in quick succession.

Seemingly being tired from those jobs, he would often be seen dozing off in the guild. Coming to think of it, they hadn't even had a proper fight since then, because Gray was always looking drowsy.

_No._

The only things he was doing these days: dealing with some matter alone, going to work in order to hide it, becoming exhausted by those missions – or perhaps, whatever his problem was.

And, sleeping.

_No. It can't be, this guy-_

All this time, Gray had been good at hiding it.

And that was why all this time, Natsu did not notice.

"Gray, you—"

Natsu's eyes widened.

Gray let out a deep sigh. Not until the last moment did Natsu feel the strained thread between them suddenly snap.

"You know, Natsu—?"

Bit by bit, the forceful grip on Natsu's wrist slowly loosened.

"I don't… want to sleep, anymore."

Trembling slightly, Gray's hands slipped off and fell.

"_Gray!_"

.

.

.

**drowning quietly.**


	6. broken future

On the second floor of the guild, Gray looked very relaxed as he slept. The afternoon sun shining through the window illuminated pale skin, and strands of black hair cast shadows over his closed eyes.

Thinking on it now, as she carefully observed her friend's sleeping face, this was how she had been seeing him lately for a long, long time.

Suddenly, Gray's eyes began to flutter, opening slowly and directly.

"…I wonder how long you were planning on lying to us about this."

Out of the blue, Erza spoke. Still hazy from awakening, Gray blinked rapidly several times in a row.

"As usual, you're top notch at trying to hide the things that you don't want people to see."

"…How long did I sleep?"

"About two hours. Natsu went home. Right now, we are the only ones in this room."

He had not asked, and Gray guessed that the scarlet-haired mage wanted a direct explanation without interruption. "I see," he muttered slowly, sitting up in the bed. And yet, he couldn't help but try and forestall the inevitable response. "…Are you mad?"

"I am. To be honest, I would like to hit you right now."

A dry laugh escaped from Gray's throat. "I guess I should've expected that." But he did not attempt to make eye contact with Erza.

She did not like it, and Erza's eyes narrowed grimly. "Answer me, Gray. I won't have any more of your excuses."

"I don't have anything to answer… I don't know how to answer anymore." Gray's expression flickered to a bitter smile.

"I want to hear the real story from your own lips. What we knew and were convinced of, I'm sorry that the truth escaped so far."

Just as it had, up until earlier.

At Erza's words, Gray closed his eyes briefly as thoughts formulated.

…

"…Before I knew it, I was asleep."

Sitting in silence with her arms and legs crossed, Erza listened.

"I wasn't tired, I wasn't sleepy… But then I didn't even notice when I fell asleep. It kept happening again, and again."

One by one, Gray's words trickled out deliberately as he continued.

"I stopped waking up in the morning. I started falling asleep in the middle of the day. And, I didn't like that."

"…The tablets you were taking."

"Did you hear that from Loke? He said he'd keep his mouth shut."

"Gray. Answer."

"…I don't know what sort of thing you misunderstood, but it really is just some sort of caffeine thing you can find in stores that people use a lot. It's supposed to keep you awake."

Gray shifted, and threw a small box over. Catching it easily, Erza ran a quick glance over the item. Written across the box, was certainly exactly what Gray had said: a brand of caffeine agent commonly found on the market. But the package was completely empty, void of any contents it might have had.

Apparently, they had all been given the wrong impression entirely.

"…Since when?" Erza asked softly, suppressing a tremble in her voice.

"I bought these when I… realized. After we came back from the last time we went on a job as a team. Oversleeping and being late like that, really wasn't something I could just laugh off."

He added in a subdued voice, "But, they didn't work at all."

"…"

"At first, I didn't worry about it too much. I thought, I wondered if I was just tired. But I bought these because it was really strange."

The symptoms that he had not even stopped to worry about, thinking that they would be cured soon. Coming to rely on the tablets that were bought at a whim, that did not take much time to use.

Increasing the amount taken still did not have any effect. The time spent sleeping became a little longer.

"So you increased the number of jobs you took, trying to disguise this."

Immersing himself in work, which led to sleeping even more because he actually was tired.

They had thought that the number of jobs Gray had taken alone was to hide something then, using them as an excuse to run away.

The truth was the opposite.

"…Yeah. Trying to hide that I kept falling asleep, I took more and more jobs."

Loke as well, must have thought it was because of the jobs that Gray had been using the tablets, in order to avoid sleeping. The entire situation of misunderstandings was almost laughable.

"…The hospital."

"I already went. It's not a physical or a mental problem. And it's not some kind of magic curse either. There's absolutely… no explanation or cause for it."

The air had turned oppressively heavy.

"…Why didn't you say anything?" Erza whispered, nails digging deeply into her palm from how tightly her hand was clenched in a helpless fist.

Gray laughed again wryly, a quiet sound that faded out to a sigh.

"You… should know why."

"Gray!"

"…Sorry, Erza… I think… I'm going to sleep for a bit…"

Saying that, Gray's eyes slowly slid shut.

Erza's breath momentarily caught in her throat.

"…Gray?"

There was no answer.

.

.

.

**broken future.**


	7. gentle desperation

Everything, everyone, was slowly wearing down.

It was like a shadow growing steadily as the days passed.

If they noticed, the shadow had certainly become quite large.

* * *

Gray fell asleep on the mission.

One moment he was standing, and the next – like the punch line to a bad joke, he wasn't.

Fairy Tail's strongest team had taken a job requesting the subjugation of some thieves. It was when they had defeated about ninety percent of the enemies that it happened abruptly.

Slowly, Gray stumbled as his balance failed, and no one was able to respond in that instant.

Taking the chance with the team suddenly caught off-guard, the remaining thieves launched an attack at Gray. They would never forget the unpleasant tension at that second.

What exactly had happened then, no one could recall it.

Suddenly, they all realized that Natsu was standing in front of Gray's crumpled figure, teeth gritted at the blood streaking down his burnt right arm.

"Natsu!" Happy cried in alarm, diving towards his partner.

"It's fine!" Natsu shouted back. "Let's hurry up and knock'em all out!" He allowed himself only one glance backwards. More than the ache in his arm, something twisted painfully in his chest.

He did not want to imagine what Gray's face would be like, once the other woke up.

* * *

"…Natsu."

The enemies had all been defeated, and Gray gradually got up. He looked around, eyes coming to a stop on Natsu's injured arm.

"Hey, Gray…"

It was no big deal, Natsu attempted to say, wanting to deny what had just happened with every fiber of his being. Yet Gray seemed to have already realized everything.

There was no color in his obsidian eyes, and carefully, Gray sighed deeply.

Natsu stopped breathing for a moment. The ominous feeling was coming true.

"I'm…"

"Shut up, you idiot."

He did not want to hear it.

"We'll make this a punishment game. Until we get back to the guild, you're not going to say a word."

It was such a stupid, silly, childish thing, to try and stretch this instant where everything was still okay up to when they would be forced to report it at their destination. Still, he did not want to hear what would inevitably be said.

At Natsu's words, Gray laughed.

…A quiet, humorless laugh, devoid of emotion.

It was the expression that Natsu had not wanted to see the most.

* * *

From the day that Gray's secret had been revealed and the events that had transpired then, just two weeks had passed.

Of course, Gray had been soundly scolded by the master and other guild members. Nevertheless, they were all relieved more than anything, knowing the whole story.

He did not continue to take on the unreasonable number of jobs as he had before, and had gone back to work in the team.

Everything seemed to go back to normal. Back to before those last two months. Once again, Gray laughed and argued and joined in the daily fights that occurred at Fairy Tail.

And slept.

Seeing Gray like that, members of the guild would shake their heads in resignation, teasing him gently about it with sympathy in their eyes.

But everyone knew that it did not solve anything.

Makarov, and even Porlyusica, could not determine the cause. Some guild members would try and desperately search for some sort of clue, but always came back empty and defeated.

Still, time could only continue to pass cruelly.

Little by little, the span of time that Gray spent asleep became too long.

* * *

On the second floor of the guild, Makarov faced Gray.

Behind Gray stood the other members of the team. A grimly dejected air was present around everyone.

"…Gray."

"I know, gramps."

His voice was rather calm, even though it was surely the most painful thing to say.

Makarov took a deep breath. It was a painful thing to do as well. But it was the responsibility of the master to carry out such matters, and he had known it from the start.

"Gray Fullbuster. From henceforth, you are prohibited from accepting, carrying out, or participating in any official missions of the guild."

"Gramps!" Natsu's indignant protest.

"Master!" Lucy's distressed cry.

But with one look from Makarov, they were silenced.

"I understand."

Gray nodded quietly. "Thank you, gramps."

"Gray. Do not give up. …It may be cruel to simply wait, but endure it."

There had to be a way. In the silence, a strong message was relayed.

And bowing his head wordlessly, Gray left the room. He did not meet anyone's eyes.

"Master, why-"

"Lucy. These words may be harsh, but you must realize that Gray can't carry on as a mage anymore."

The answer to Lucy's timidly interrupted question came from Erza. With her expression as impassive as ever, the armored mage continued.

"Collapsing like that in the middle of a mission… it's dangerous to everyone. This time Natsu was able to intervene, but we don't know when it'll happen next."

"But…!" Even as she began, Lucy was at a loss for words.

"And, how can we take someone who could collapse at any moment on a dangerous mission? Would we have to cover for him every single second? I'm sure he wouldn't want something like that either. …I don't want Gray to die."

"Erza…"

"Do not misunderstand this for pity or salvation, Lucy. Now, for Gray, missions are simply out of the question."

In the wake of Erza's firmly resolute words, they all fell silent.

* * *

"…It must have been hard for you to say that."

"No…"

In the master's office, alone, Erza shook her head gently. "I'm sure it's Gray who's taking it the hardest."

Makarov closed his eyes, a pensive expression on his face. "I fear that I may have done him a disservice." When Erza did not deny his words, he continued. "It's a miserable state of affairs… As a parent, ultimately I've simply placed the heaviest burden on that brat's shoulders now."

Without regard for Gray's feelings, it would be no wonder if he never forgave them for not allowing him to leave Fairy Tail. He could not live as a mage anymore. It was a fact that Gray was unquestionably the most painfully aware of.

Surely, continuing on as a member of the guild in such a state, Gray would not stand for it. He would always be blaming himself for being helpless in the guild. Yet they would not let him speak for himself on this matter. They would not let him go.

"Even if he should quit the guild, we are a family. That much I know. But still, I do not know what he would do if I let him go."

"Yes…" Erza murmured in agreement. "I feel the same though. What Gray wants… I wish I knew."

What they would not allow him to do, it was simply a product of their own selfishness.

"I'm guilty of the same thing as you, master."

Erza's eyes closed slowly. The memory of her conversation with Gray rose to the forefront of her mind.

* * *

"_...Why didn't you say anything?"_

"_You… should know why."_

* * *

_Oh, I understand now, Gray._

…_You must have been afraid that this would happen._

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.

.

**gentle desperation.**


	8. palm-friendly

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait! I had a little thing called finals to get over with recently. In addition, the author I got the story from put her site on hiatus for a bit, blocking all access, so I can't refer to the original story. It's a bit of a pain… So please bear with slower updates for the last two chapters after this while I try to write them out from memory, and thanks to everyone for reading.

* * *

Ultimately, they were the ones who were relying on his kindness all along.

It should have been the most painful for him, yet he did not say anything.

In his kindness, he would even forgive them of their own selfishness.

* * *

Gray had been sleeping on the second floor of the guild. When it was impossible to know if he would fall asleep, it was difficult to live alone now.

Whenever he was awake, he would help Mirajane with her work.

There was not a day that went by when someone was not stuck to Gray's side like glue. Especially the other members of Fairy Tail's strongest team.

But still, Happy wondered sometimes. About what kind of thoughts Gray would have when everyone else left to go on missions, one by one.

"Everyone… All of us are being terrible to you, Gray."

"Why's that?"

Sitting across from Happy at the table, Gray looked puzzled.

"You hate being at the guild now, don't you? Because everyone's selfish and we made you stay here. We said we didn't want you to go."

"…Happy."

"It's more normal to go to the hospital when you're sick, right? I-If it bothers you, you shouldn't have to stay at the guild just 'cause we said so."

Gray's hand extended, reaching over to gently pat Happy on the head. "That's enough, Happy. Don't say that sort of stuff."

The last time he had seen those hands produce delicately sturdy ice, it was as if it had been another lifetime ago. With that in mind, Happy became more and more depressed. "Gray…"

"You see, that's what I'm talking about. Stop blaming yourself. That's worse than anything else, you know?"

Saying that, Gray let out an embarrassed laugh. "I really did used to think it'd be better if I left, seeing everyone blame themselves for what's going on. This isn't anyone's fault."

"But that's…!"

Even as the involuntary exclamation slipped out and Happy clapped his paws to his mouth, the words that had been spoken just now were indeed as Gray said.

Gray's hand continued to rub Happy's head softly. "If everything had ended with Deliora back then," he mused mildly, "maybe it would be easier now."

"…"

"But everyone would kick my ass if I said that, so."

Happy lowered his gaze.

He wondered why everything had come to this.

It was like the master had once said. One person's happiness was everyone's happiness.

If Gray was suffering by being in the guild, then everyone would suffer seeing Gray with such a look.

And knowing everyone was suffering because of him, Gray would suffer too.

Everyone was hurting each other, with each other.

But there was no one to blame.

"I thought keeping at a distance would be better at first. But now, I can't even imagine doing that. Fairy Tail's still home, no matter what."

"I'm sure you'll get better, Gray. That's why, everything'll be okay…!"

…He did not want such a thing to be said.

"I know. Thanks, Happy."

Gray smiled quietly. His hand, still caressing Happy's head, was as kind, as friendly as ever.

That kindness was enough to make him want to cry.

Happy tightly squeezed his eyes shut.

It was good that he wasn't crying.

* * *

_I mean, we thought he was supposed to cry the most, but he didn't._

.

.

.

**palm-friendly.**


	9. closed door

**A/N:** Understandably, there's confusion on what in the world this story is about. All I can say is that there will be an explanation – for a lack of better words – in the author's note/afterword of the last chapter. Thanks to everyone for being patient about it all, and the last chapter will be up on Thursday.

* * *

The flow of time is cruel.

Because inevitably, eventually, time erases all wounds.

Even if there were pains of some wounds that one did not want to forget.

* * *

"What was that thing about someone like me? I think it was a story."

While gazing out the window, Gray unexpectedly spoke, making Lucy turn her head towards him.

The hours in which he slept and the hours in which he was awake had reversed, no longer as it used to be. Without even being able to help with Mirajane's work, now he would spend most of the day sleeping quietly.

"Some sort of fairy tale, right? About that person who was always sleeping?"

"That… Are you talking about Sleeping Beauty?" Lucy asked, confused at the sudden inquiry. Sleeping Beauty. The story of the princess who had gone to sleep in a castle for a hundred years because of a witch's curse.

"Oh yeah, that's it. She woke up sooner or later, didn't she? I wonder what she thought then."

Gray gave an amused smirk. Even now, he was still able to pull off a laugh.

In contrast, Lucy could not bear to watch, and looked away. "…Sleeping Beauty," she murmured. "The kiss of a prince was what woke her up after a hundred years of sleep."

"Aha, I sure wouldn't want that sort of thing. Sorry to put off any total strangers who'd want to have a kiss like that," Gray commented, a dry chuckle spilling out.

Two months had already passed, since Gray had been prohibited from taking missions. Two more months of trying.

A solution had still not been found, and time could only continue to move onward.

Though he was the focus of the surrounding tension, Gray appeared to be the only one who was calm about it all. In any case, the self-perpetuating guilt and remorse circulating around the guild seemed to have lessened ever so slightly, in resignation.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Lucy could not decide.

"…If I could keep you awake with a kiss, I'd give you one."

A reckless thought suddenly formed in her mind, and she approached the bed. Gray watched warily, not saying anything.

"Gray."

She leaned in closely, one hand squeezing his shoulder and the other reaching up to his cheek. Dark eyes stared into warm brown ones, lips only centimeters away from touching each other.

Blinking all of a sudden, Gray caught her hand gently and pushed it down, turning his face away. "…Stupid," Lucy heard him murmur wryly. "Don't. This is different. I'm not some silly princess, and no offense, but you're the farthest thing from a prince." He laughed a little, and the distance between them widened again as he moved back.

Lucy dropped her hands, slumping back onto her chair. Outside, the orange and red beams of the sunset were beginning to dim.

The teasing tone returned in Gray's voice. "Besides, girls complain about their first kiss being important or something, right? I'll pass. Don't waste yours on me, Lucy."

A faint, wavering smile broke across Lucy's lips, and she tried to suppress the odd pressure building up behind her eyes. "I… guess so."

He looked at her then, with that sympathetic expression she had come to hate. Unable to take it anymore, Lucy threw her arms around Gray's neck, ignoring the momentary noise of surprise he made, burying her face into his shoulder and shaking with small sobs. At the very least, she did not want him to see her crying so childishly like this.

She felt his arms wrap over her back, rubbing comfortingly, and it only made her sob harder. His grip wasn't as strong as it used to be.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said quietly into her ear. "I know you guys are taking it hard too. But you shouldn't. I hope you don't anymore, because I'm only sleeping, remember? I'm sorry, Lucy."

Lucy couldn't see his face, but she tightened her hold. "D-don't apologize…"

"Don't cry then. I hate seeing girls cry, you know."

They stayed like that for a while, silently embracing each other. Lucy closed her eyes. When she thought about it now, Gray had always treated her like a sister, and even like something closer than that, just as their entire team always had towards each other. And perhaps, that was why it was so difficult now.

They couldn't do anything. This time, there was no enemy they could defeat to make it all better. It was so frustrating, mortifying, discouraging - knowing that day by day, they were helpless to prevent it from getting worse.

And more than anyone else, Gray knew that.

"…What do you think Sleeping Beauty dreamed about while she was in that castle of hers?"

He broke the silence suddenly, his hold loosening, and Lucy took it as a signal to let go. Raising her head, Lucy scrubbed the back of her right hand over her eyes before sitting back.

"What she dreamed about?"

The future, perhaps? Or the prince who would come to her rescue, a hundred years later? Surely, the princess would not have had a nightmare or something of that sort.

"Maybe she just dreamed about a normal day," Gray muttered, when Lucy did not give a concrete answer. "With the people she knew." There was the familiar distant look in his eyes now, and it filled Lucy with fear that Gray would slip away yet again at any moment. She grasped one of his hands.

"Lucy?"

Rather than responding to his faintly puzzled voice, Lucy tightened her grip.

_Stay. Stay strong. Don't go anywhere._

"Is that what you dream about?" she asked instead, desperate to keep him here. "A normal day at the guild? Going on missions? Having fun with everyone?"

He already appeared half-asleep, but nevertheless, a bitter expression crossed Gray's face. "Something… like that."

"In your dreams… am I there, Gray?"

And Erza? And Natsu? And Happy? Everyone? Were they all there, laughing and fighting like they used to?

"…Even if everyone's there in the dream," Gray said evenly, slowly closing his eyes. "It's… the same here too. It doesn't… change reality."

"Huh?"

"So whether it's a dream… or real… I don't know anymore."

Trembling, Lucy squeezed his hand gently. "Can you hear me, Gray?"

"…Yeah…" Was he already dreaming, even now? Lucy wondered. "I can… hear…"

"Gray."

Silhouetted against the sinking sun, she kept softly calling his name.

.

.

.

**closed door.**


	10. everyday life

Asleep. Awake.

Subsequently, the time of the latter became very short.

* * *

No matter whether it was on missions or not, there was always an irrational – or perhaps not so irrational – fear, hidden in the back of Natsu's mind. The fear of loss, especially if it was something the Dragon Slayer couldn't fight with brute force, when it had always seemed to work so well in the past.

So sometimes, many times, Natsu would sit there by the bed in silence, watching and listening for the constant sound of steady breathing; the proof that he was alive.

Warm sunlight spilled in through the window, and Natsu's sharp ears easily picked up the shrill chirps of nearby birds. A gentle breeze lifted the curtains slightly, making them sway from side to side.

It was an entirely beautiful day.

The figure in the bed suddenly stirred, and Natsu glanced around.

"Natsu…?"

Dark eyes glassy with drowsiness peered to the side, blinking in recognition and the bright light. Natsu pulled his chair closer, his expression carefully neutral.

"…I'm here."

"Heh… That's not like you. Is this a dream?"

"You sayin' that I'm just a dream, ice-brain?"

"There we go... I guess not then."

A faint, tired grin tugged at the corners of Gray's mouth in response to the familiar banter. He breathed out in a long sigh, eyes half-lidded and threatening to close again. "How long this time?"

"Not too long," Natsu lied. "A few hours."

"You get crappier at lying each time, you know."

"S-shut up!"

Gray laughed airily, a quiet chuckle melting into the air. In spite of himself, Natsu smiled as well, just a little, ignoring how it seemed to feel that a large lump was beginning to settle in the back of his throat. "It's nice outside."

"I can see that," Gray retorted dryly.

"We should go on a mission soon. All five of us together."

"Sounds… like a plan." His next words came out more subdued, distant, feather-light and fading as if being carried off by a breeze. "…Might have to… wait a bit though."

Asleep. Awake.

Repeat.

It seemed that today was to be merely a short visit.

Natsu crossed his arms, staring out the window. The indistinctly muffled chatter from passing people outside was just barely audible, a pleasant humming that signaled sounds of life. "Next time then."

The words were spoken as casually as one might have spoken of the weather. Yet concealed behind them was their mutually understood and steadfast promise. He would not accept anything less.

"If… you're still up for it," Gray said haltingly, visibly struggling to keep his eyes open, "We can even have a fight. It's, been a while… right?"

"Just as long as Erza's not around."

"Yeah."

"And Lucy's not yelling about her rent."

"…Yeah."

"That's what the mission'll be for, anyway."

"…Yeah…"

"I'll totally kick your ass."

"Ha… You're the only one I refuse to lose to, ash-brain."

Natsu started, turning back, and their gazes met.

Gray had never seemed more awake than he did at this moment, alert dark eyes reflecting only Natsu and flashing with a strong light that was unchanged from the days before. Natsu inhaled sharply at an involuntary, stinging spike of pain in his chest, almost able to believe that everything was still the same.

The moment passed, and everything _was_ the same.

It was as if the instant had never happened as Gray blinked slowly, his expression beginning to glaze over in that subtle way they had all come to recognize and expect and dread, sooner or later.

Somehow, Natsu managed to force the words out through an abruptly dry throat. "I know. Wouldn't expect anything less." Tugging at his scarf, which had inexplicably become uncomfortably tight, Natsu then leaned back in the chair, folding his arms behind his head. There was nothing else to be done.

So.

"Get some rest. We'll be here."

"…Mm."

Though it was apparent that he was already on the verge of complete sleep again, there was no doubt that Gray certainly nodded in acknowledgement, ever so slightly. And gradually, his eyes finally fluttered shut.

Natsu waited for the rhythmic sound of soft, sleep-induced breathing to stabilize, holding his own breath in anticipation. When he was reassured, a heavy sigh of his own escaped, and Natsu looked out the window once more.

"…Hurry and wake up soon, Gray."

In its own way, this was also a dream, repeated over and over. Being left wondering if even there, he was being caught up in the familiar chaos of the guild they all loved so much.

Without any trace of clouds marring it, the sky seemed oddly lonely.

Beyond the sky, in that vague and blurry realm of dreams, even if Gray was laughing with everyone as he used to…

…That laughter could not reach Natsu and the others, where they were now.

"Don't keep us waiting, or else."

.

.

.

**everyday life.**

Over time, this was what it slowly became, as the endless cycle of days ambiguously carved itself into routine.

Even now, the world continued to turn without him, as beautiful as ever.

In the castle surrounded by thorns…

…That person, is having a quiet dream.

_fin._

_The Dream of Sleeping Beauty._

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.

.

* * *

**A/N:** …And that's the end. Seriously. What happens after that, what caused this to happen in the first place, even I don't know. Feel free to make your own assumptions.

From what I can gather in the original author's note, the story was never meant to have a concrete plot explaining why this was happening. I believe it was written more to show what Fairy Tail would do in such a situation, when there's something they can't fight happening to one of their own, and their reactions to it. I'm sorry if the ending disappointed anyone, but I'm just the translator here, and what I loved about the original story was the emotion in the writing. I hope people enjoyed reading it as much as I did.

In short, that's it for my little translating project here. Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews. My attention after this will be turned to my two multi-chapter stories, _If The Sky Should Fall_ and _Parallel Days_. I'm a pretty slow writer when it comes to my own things, so updates will become more sporadic from here on out. I'm also planning on starting a drabble series called _Cover to Cover_, which will be about every possible character and topic in Fairy Tail, all less than a thousand words. I'm planning on taking requests too, so if there are any prompts (or pairings) people would want to see, I'd be more than happy to take a look or even write a oneshot about. If it's about a pairing, I literally ship everyone with everyone in Fairy Tail, so don't worry about stepping on any toes.

So, until next time! And thank you again.


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